How are credit card companies treating their customers in a time when they have so much connectivity and access to social media?
Pretty terribly, it would seem.
Take my most recent bad experience -- which happened today, actually -- when I tried to get a late payment charge removed from my Chase Freedom Mastercard.
A late fee that I got for paying my bill online the day it was due.
The bill was due June 30; I paid it online that afternoon. The customer service representative I spoke to this afternoon, Ms. Patel, said they received the payment on July 4. And that it was "not a bank error." Excuse me?
Patel also said that if you pay online after 4:00 p.m. Eastern time on the day the bill is due, the payment is considered late. I'm so sorry, Chase, but I have a job, you know, so I can pay my credit card bill.
She then transferred me over to "management," a Ms. Anna B. (she would not give me her last name), who told me the late charge would not be removed. I informed her I worked in media and would be sure to cover this on my website (i.e. this blog). I also plan on tweeting about it here and talking about it on Facebook -- my friends and colleagues need to be warned about how Chase treats their most loyal customers (I loved my Chase Freedom card, and it's going to be sad to cut it up when this is all over).
Here's the letter I'm writing to Chase in complaint:
My name is Jessica Ann Mola and I use my Chase Freedom Mastercard as my sole credit card. I am writing this letter in dispute of a late payment charge of $29.00 I received on my last billing statement (May/June 2009).
The paper copy of my statement said the payment due date was June 30. On the afternoon of June 30, I logged on to my account and made the full payment online. I received a confirmation email for this payment a few moments later. However, on my June/July statement, I received a late fee of $29.00 dated June 30. This did not make any sense to me because I paid my bill on the correct date -- the due date -- and today called your customer service line.
I spoke to a Ms. Patel who told me that they received the payment on July 4, which according to her "had nothing to do with the holiday weekend" and "was not a bank error." I told her I had the email confirmation that I paid on June 30, but she said the late fee would not be removed. She then transferred me to management, Anna (Jana?) B., who would not give me her last name when I asked for it. Is having your customer service reps not reveal their last names standard customer policy? After speaking with Anna, she refused to remedy my problem.
I believe this payment should be credited on the correct date, and that the late fee should be taken off. If this is not done, I will most certainly take my business elsewhere. In the interest of full disclosure, I am the editor of a Web 2.0 media site, and I am writing about this abuse in my widely published blog. That link is here:
Thank you for your time, and I do hope you choose to remedy this situation as soon as possible.
UPDATE: See Chase's response to me here.
Why does Chase seem indifferent to social media? Well, in this case, because the individuals you spoke with are not compensated to care about Chase's public image... so in fact, as representatives of Chase to you, the customer, you're right - they actually don't care about social media impact.